ENGLISH

Images of Excellence: Plato's Critique of the Arts

By Christopher Janaway

Book information

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Year
1995
ISBN
0198240074, 9780198240075
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
27 MB (27816010 bytes)
Pages
240\237
Time added
2015-04-04 21:51:17

Description

This original new book argues for a reassessment of Plato's challenge to the arts. Plato was the first great figure in Western philosophy to assess the value of the arts; he argued in the Republic that traditionally accepted forms of poetry, drama, and music are unsound. While this view has been widely rejected, Janaway argues that Plato's hostile case is a more coherent and profound challenge to the arts than has sometimes been supposed. Denying that Plato advocates "good art" in any modern sense, Janaway seeks both to understand Plato's critique in the context of his own philosophy and to locate him in today's philosophy of art, showing how issues in aesthetics arise from responses to his charges.

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